WHO'S Hot/WHO'S Not

WHO'S Hot

Mulders

After a lousy start Mark Mulder (left), the Cardinals' newly imported ace, has won two straight, dropped his ERA from 8.18 to 3.10 and bested Roger Clemens in a 1-0 10-inning win. And agent Fox Mulder is primed for maximum exposure: Former X-Files star David Duchovny wrote and stars in his directorial-debut film, House of D.

Matt Cassel

Understudy to the stars: Former USC quarterback is only player to back up two Heisman-winning QBs (Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart), closing his college career with two national titles but only 33 pass attempts. That was enough for the Super Bowl champion Patriots, who took him in the seventh round to serve under Tom Brady.

White Sox

With a mix of power (division-best 20 homers) and pitching (AL-best 3.12 ERA), they're off to their best start ever (15-4). In a week in which fiery manager Ozzie Guillen reminded everyone he didn't need ex-Chisox slugger Magglio Ordoñez, whom he called, "a piece of [bleep]," White Sox widened their lead to four games in the AL Central.

Rafael Nadal

Eighteen-year-old tennis phenom swept fellow Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero to win Barcelona Open, becoming youngest player since Andrei Medvedev in 1993 to break into the top 10 (Nadal is No. 7). Charismatic clay-court stud is thrilling his native land, pulling down sponsorships and even looking sharp in those stylish pants (left).

WHO'S Not

Drew Brothers

The Dodgers are off to a fine start (page 42) but newly imported outfielder J.D. Drew (left) is not, hitting just .238. Brother Tim, pitching for the Rockies' Triple A team, has a 9.64 ERA. And youngest brother Stephen, the Diamondbacks' first pick in '04, still hasn't signed (the D-Backs say negotiations are all but dead) and will play for the Camden (N.J.) Riversharks of the Atlantic League.

Scholastic Achievements

Who says college prepares you for the real world? Former Oklahoma quarterback Jason White, the 2003 Heisman winner, wasn't selected in the NFL draft. Neither was Hawaii's Timmy Chang, who threw for an NCAA-record 17,072 yards. Nor was Purdue's Taylor Stubblefield, who had an NCAA-record 316 receptions. Maybe they should have been backups like USC's Matt Cassel.

Phillies

They're not fielding (division-worst 13 errors), they sure aren't pitching (5.34 ERA), and they got off to an 8-11 start, good for last place in the NL East. In a week in which former Phillies outfielder Lenny Dykstra was accused of taking steroids and gambling on baseball (he denies both), the team got swept by division rival Atlanta.

Caroline Marcil

The crowd at the Quebec Coliseum was booing the 24-year-old Montreal native as she began to sing the U.S. national anthem before last Friday's U.S.-Canada exhibition hockey game. (That's what Canadian hockey crowds do for The Star-Spangled Banner.) They booed more when she forgot the words--twice--and ducked off the ice. When she came back on and slipped, landing on her bottom? Well, then they cheered.

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TOM DIPACE (DREW)

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JOHN IACONO (PHILLIES JASON MICHAELS)

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CESAR RANGEL/AFP/GETTY IMAGES (NADAL)

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J. PAT CARTER/AP (CASSELL)

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JOHN IACONO (MULDER)